Fairfield Aged Care Home boss sends harsh text to staff: ‘Your mother doesn’t work here’
An Australian soldier-turned-care home manager has been called out after she sent her elderly care staff a brutal message about the facility’s messy state.
Eva Ballai, head of nursing at the Fairfield Aged Care Home in western Sydney, wrote a scathing message to staff on Thursday.
The message berated the workers for the “terribly dirty” communal kitchen, referred to their mothers and noted that many of the workers were from abroad, claiming the standard of cleanliness is much higher in Australia.
“Roaches are crawling all over the floor and in the sink, causing food poisoning and other outbreaks,” Ms Ballai wrote.
“You MUST clean up behind you because YOUR MOTHER DOESN’T WORK HERE!”
Eva Ballai (pictured), director of care at Fairfield Aged Care Home in western Sydney, berated staff for not keeping their kitchen clean, telling them: “YOUR MOTHER DOESN’T WORK HERE!”
The message sent by Eva Ballai, the Head of Nursing (DON), to staff at the Fairfield Aged Care Home was leaked to Daily Mail Australia
“The standard of cleanliness is higher in Australia than anywhere else. Now that you live in Australia and NOT abroad, you MUST comply with this standard.”
It is believed that the majority of the staff are Nepalese.
Some of the 50 or so employees at the nursing home are said to be appalled by the brutal news.
One who wished to remain anonymous told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Ballai regularly spoke to staff in this way.
“I found it very disturbing,” they said. “The bold letters are cruel and condescending.”
“We live in a multicultural country and such comments should not be tolerated.”
The employee added, ‘The employees work so hard there and they show no respect.’ We don’t appreciate it.’
Ms. Ballai, who has worked there for around four years, is also said to have banned staff from speaking their own language during breaks in the kitchen.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Ms Ballai for comment.
Fairfield Aged Care Home is operated by Hall & Prior Health & Aged Care Group, which owns and operates 33 care homes in Western Australia and New South Wales.
A spokesman for Hall & Prior admitted the text message sent to all staff at the Fairfield Aged Care Home today was not in line with the organisation’s usual standard of communication.
“We apologize unreservedly for this news and any offense it may have caused,” the statement said.
“We take the matter very seriously and will conduct a thorough investigation immediately.”
Ms. Ballai served as an assigned nurse with the Australian Defense Force’s 8th Combat Service Support Battalion
Fairfield Aged Care Home is one of 33 care homes operated by Hall & Prior Health & Aged Care Group in New South Wales and Western Australia
Ms Ballai has had a successful career as a nurse and served in the Australian Army.
She reportedly fled war-torn Yugoslavia to the Gold Coast in 1992, aged 25, with only two suitcases, one containing clothes and one containing nursing books.
But her qualifications as a nurse were not recognized in Australia.
The political refugee improved his English at TAFE and soon found employment as a nursing assistant at a local nursing home.
She then completed a nursing degree which led to many years in acute care at Gold Coast Hospital, Pindara Private Hospital and Allamanda Private Hospital.
“When I was working at Gold Coast Hospital, I was the only nurse who didn’t speak English,” she said Griffith News in 2017.
“The company has come a long way since then.”
Ms. Ballai then completed a Master of Business Administration Advanced (Healthcare Services Management and Marketing) which paved the way for a successful career managing nursing homes in Queensland and New South Wales.
She also served as a Nursing Officer with the Australian Defense Force’s 8th Combat Service Support Battalion.
“I know it sounds cheesy and I’d like to say that joining the Australian Army at 40 was a mid-life crisis, but that wasn’t the case,” she said.
“I think I was ready to give something back and I just wanted to thank Australia for giving me a second chance at life.”
“Caring is my life and it’s my character — I just like helping people.”